How Inflation is Affecting Food Prices in Switzerland

Being a food blog we thought it was important to spend some time to talk about the recent inflation and how this is affecting the food prices in Switzerland and the world, what products are affected the most and how we can save while food shopping. The cost of food in Switzerland increased 2.5% in July of 2022 over the same month in the previous year, the most since August 2008. Even though Swiss consumers are better off than in other European countries such as the United Kingdom, where energy prices have tripled and inflation has reached 10% we can still see a big increase in food, energy, housing and insurance costs across the board and Swiss customer are beginning to change their spending habits focusing less on non-essential goods.

So why are food prices soaring? There are three main factors that have lead to this huge increase in food prices:

1) The War in Ukraine and Sanctions on Russia - Russia and Ukraine are some of the largest producers of wheat and cereal in the world, together accounting for 30% of all wheat exports worldwide. With the war, Ukraine is no longer able to export the way it used to with their cargo exports decreasing by 92% YOY. Russia on the other hand announced restrictions on grain exports, squeezing global wheat supplies further. Ukraine is also the world’s largest producer of sunflower oil which means the costs of alternatives have also climbed.

2) The Pandemic - The effects of the pandemic are still being felt today. The pandemic disrupted almost every part of the food supply chain, including production, processing and retail. During the pandemic when people where eating more at home the ecosystem was completely shaken with producers catering to restaurants working less, grocery stores facing demand, transportation costs increasing and staff being laid off.

3) Extreme Weather - Droughts, heatwaves, flooding and new pests are preventing producers from obtaining a reliable crop in many areas of the world. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the summer of 2022 was Europe’s hottest on record by a stunning margin: 0.4 degree Celsius (0.7°F). This hot weather brought with it the worst drought Europe has seen in the last 500 years. What does this mean for food and crops? Smaller harvests, crop failures which lead to an increase in prices. This extreme weather brought the worst grape harvest in Switzerland since 1957 along with harvest failures.

Another big topic is, of course, diseases like the avian flu which is killing a record number of poultry in the US and in the UK.

It feels like all these huge topics are hitting us at the same time creating higher prices, fear and insecurity across the board. As mentioned the cost of food has increased in Switzerland but there are countries like the US that are facing much higher increases where egg prices soared 40%, flour got 23% more expensive and bread jumped 16%. Switzerland is also highly dependent on imported foodstuffs and production inputs (e.g. energy, fertilisers) which can affect prices even further.

With the Swiss consumer association warning us that this is only the beginning what are some steps we can take and what foods are the best to buy now?

So what are some foods that are most affected by the price increase in Switzerland? When looking at the FSO consumer price index numbers comparing August 2021 to August 2022 we can see that energy prices have gone through the roof with heating oil being 86% more expensive, gas 58% more expensive and wood climbing 26%.

The most affected foods are: Cooking Oils (11%), Pasta (13%), Butter (10%), Coffee (10%), Fresh Fish (9%), Milk and Yoghurts (5%), Chicken (5%), Bread (4%), Eggs (4%), Beef (4%) - Fresh Vegetables actually became cheaper (-4.6%) as well as Potatoes (-5.4%).

The big price hit is mainly felt with cereal products, fats & oils, meats, fish & seafood while vegetables have been spared.

I’m not going to tell everyone to become a vegetarian to save money but we can definitely change our habits to avoid loosing too much money on eating healthy in the coming months.

1) Check which Supermarket suits you best - There has been a big debate lately on which is the most expensive supermarket in Switzerland with Migros taking the lead of most expensive chain. Denner is the second most expensive, Coop is in third place, Lidl second and Aldi wins as the cheapest supermarket. If you are a big planner and want to buy larger quantities Aligros is also a good option. All of the above mentioned supermarkets sell Swiss regional and seasonal products so in the end it’s really a preference based choice.

2) Reduce Food Waste - According to ETH “For every person in Switzerland, 300 Kg of perfectly good food is thrown away every year”. Food waste is not only terrible for the environment but also for our wallets. Planning meals ahead and eating everything you have in the fridge before heading out to buy more food are good ways to decrease this waste. Another great way to reduce waste is to use Apps like ToGoodToGo which also partner with supermarkets and local stores.

3) Rethink your Protein - As mentioned I am not trying to make a vegetarian out of anyone but the fact of the matter is that foods like meat, poultry and seafood tend to be the most expensive things on our plate. Eating a little less meat, choosing less expensive cuts, moving to plant-based proteins a couple of times a week are all ways in which you can save money while keeping healthy.

4) Support Local Farmers - As mentioned above, the higher costs, weather and general evolution in the past year hasn’t been easy on farmers and local producers. It’s important to support these people so head to a farm and buy their local produce once in a while, make a day trip out of it - maybe you’ll spend a little more than you would in a supermarket but you will also be paying for the experience of it and you know that you are supporting your community.